A Flaming Realization
by goldacharmed
Summary: Danny doesn't want his parents to ever know that he is Phantom for fear that they will hate him. But what happens when he has no choice but to change in front of them? What will it be, their lives or his secret? better summery inside.


A Danny Phantom one shot called

A Flaming Realization

Summary: Hate is such a strong word. That's what Danny was brought up to think. It was a word not to be used loosely. So when his parents spoke of hating the ghost boy, Danny didn't want them to ever know it was him, for fear that they will hate him too. But what happens when he has no choice but to change in front of them? It's now up to Danny. His life and theirs, or their love and his secret.

Jack Fenton was just putting the finishing touch on his newest invention. And the finishing touch to all his weapons was his trademark face.

"All done," he thought in glee.

Now it was time to gloat, and who better to do that with than his son, Danny.

"Danny," he called to upstairs.

He saw his son coming down to greet him.

"Yes dad?"

"You see son, this baby right here will finally get rid of that putrid protoplasmic punk Danny Phantom."

Danny, not liking what he was hearing, asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure son," his dad said without even looking at him.

"Well, I just wanted to know why you hate Danny Phantom so much anyway? I mean, the whole town thinks he's a hero. Why don't you and mom?"

He was hoping to make it sound like he just went with the town on his thoughts and not that it was personal, as it really was.

"Well Danny, it's like this, on the outside it looks like he's 'helping', but really, all he's doing is milking this town for all its worth."

"How could you possibly know that?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Cause son, he's just a filthy ghost, and that's what ghosts do."

"I get it," Danny said a little sadly.

He had really expected his dad to say it was nothing personal, and they were just ghost hunters doing their job. Or to say that hate was such a strong word. Like always, when growing up, his parents taught him to never say the word hate unless you know in your heart that it was true. The words could hurt a lot if said unmeant. He had taken it to heart.

Flashback

_Danny was 6 years old and was having fun with Tucker in his backyard. _

"_Ha-ha," little Danny laughed as Tucker hit him in the head with some mud. _

_It was raining out, and Tucker was staying over till the rain stopped. They were told by Danny's mom and dad not to go outside in this kind of cold weather. But they wanted to play in all the fresh mud. So Danny and Tucker were playing and having a furious mud fight. _

"_This is better than snow," Tucker said while ducking a glob of mud thrown by Danny. _

"_I know, race you to the other side!" _

"_Ok," Tucker replied happily. _

_The two boys ran across the yard laughing and giggling. Then they came to a halt when Danny's mother was right in their line of vision. _

"_Danny, Tucker what do you think you are doing?" _

_They were both covered from head to toe in mud and rain. And it was freezing out. All the boys had on was their clothing. No coat, no hat and no boots. Their sneakers were destroyed and their clothing was beyond washable. But Maddie didn't care about that. All she cared about was her son getting sick. _

"_Danny, you come inside right now and you too, Tucker." _

"_No, I don't want to," Danny huffed, "I want to stay out and play with Tucker." _

"_Yong man, you are going to come inside right now." _

"_No, you can't make me." _

And with that Danny started to run in the opposite direction and away from his mother.

"_Yes I can, I'm not playing around with you Danny, please come inside." _

_Tucker, who always was a little freaked out by Danny's parents, obeyed and came inside. When Danny saw that his fun was over, he came back to his mother and started to yank on her pants. He was too short to reach her sleeve. Maddie looked down to see her son's angry face looking up at her. _

"_Sweetie, you'll get sick if you don't come inside." _

"_I don't want to mommy, I want to stay out and play more with Tucker." _

"_Danny come inside now, no more games. You can still play in the house." _

"_No!" Danny yelled, and he started to run away, only to find himself in his mother's arms. _

"_Let me go!" _

_He started to kick and try to break free as if he was being held prisoner. Maddie took Danny inside and put a lock on the back door so Danny couldn't go back out. _

"_Come on Danny, change your clothing." _

"_No!" Danny ran up to his room, angry that his mother had ruined his fun. "I hate you!" he screamed over his shoulder. _

_Maddie gasped. She couldn't believe that her baby would say that to her. But she had to remind herself that he was a 6 year old boy who was angry. But it didn't stop the stinger from reaching its mark. She pondered over what to do now. She thought of just letting it go for now and hope that he would come to his senses. Or should she go and talk to him? She decided on a third option. _

"_Jack, dear," she called into the lab._

_Once she told jack her plan, they split up to put in into play. _

"_Ok, he's coming" Jack said and ran over to play his role. _

_Danny stood by the door, thinking he was hidden and that his parents had no idea he was listening in on what they were saying. _

"_Oh Jack," Maddie said, putting on fake tears, "How could Danny say that to me? Doesn't he know how much it hurts to hear someone you love say that they hate you?"_

_Danny's mouth was open in shock. How could his mommy be so hurt by that one word? He saw tears in his mother's eyes, and it brought some to his own. It hurt him to see how much he hurt her. And that's when he knew at once that he never meant what he said. He loved her and he needed to tell her now before anymore tears were shed. He ran out from his hiding place to his mother. _

"_Mommy I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it at all. I love you, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I love you." _

_He wrapped his little arms around her waist and gave her the biggest hug he could muster. _

"_Danny, I love you too sweetie." _

_Danny looked up and was happy to see that her tears had gone. And he would make sure that they never came back. But what he didn't see, was his mother winking at his father in triumph. _

"_we both love you," Maddie said, returning the hug, "But you need to know that if you say the word hate, it's a bad word to say." _

"_It is?" Danny asked, confused. _

He didn't know any bad words. And he didn't think that hate was one of them.

"_Yes dear, it's bad, because it hurts other people." _

"_Like I hurt you, mommy?" Danny asked quietly. _

"_Well, you said you're sorry, and I forgive you." _

Danny looked happily up at her once more.

"_I'm so sorry," he said again. _

"_It's ok Danny, I forgive you." She displayed her affection by giving him a kiss on the cheek. He giggled. "But if you say hate without meaning it, how is the other person going to know that you didn't mean it?" _

"_So you're saying that I shouldn't say it without really knowing that I mean it?" _

"_Yes," Maddie smiled. _

"_Ok mommy, I promise to never say it to anyone without meaning it." _

"_Ok dear, and I promise to never say it without meaning it either. Ok, now go play with Tucker before his mommy comes back to take him home." _

Danny ran out the room with a new determination. He wasn't going to ever hurt his mother ever again. And those were words to live by.

End flashback

At that moment Maddie walked in. "Oh, are you boys talking about Phantom?"

"Yes," Jack and his son said together.

"Well, don't you worry about him sweetie. Your father and I will make sure he doesn't ever hurt you."

"Don't worry mom, I'm not scared, cause I know that Phantom's only concern is to help and save whoever he can."

"Don't be fooled, Danny," Jack said, still not looking at him.

He was busy adding his face to the, well, Danny didn't even know what it was called.

"So mom, do you _hate_ Phantom too?" Danny put great emphases on the word hate so she got the message.

But apparently, she didn't. "Of course I do honey. Why wouldn't I? That nasty ghost is always just flying over here, strutting around like he owns the place. His so full of it that it just makes me want to capture him and tear him apart faster."

Danny winced inwardly. Though his parents didn't know it, they both just said that they hated him. Well, his alter ego, but you get the point.

"But with the new Fenton ghost eliminator that Danny Phantom will be no more. As soon as I plug it in."

Danny looked over nervously at what his dad was doing. To be honest, he didn't want him to go through with it, because he didn't want to die. And his dad did have his moments when it came to his inventions working. At least, that was the thought on his mind, until he turned around. The plug that Jack was about to use was overflowing with plug after plug after plug. Danny could see sparks flying freely from it.

"Uh, dad, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Nonsense Danny, this will get rid of that Phantom punk once and for all."

He reached over to plug it in, despite his son's warning. Once the plug made contact with the outlet in the wall it started to hiss and smoke. His dad was backing away from it as it soon started to spit out sparks more violently still. But what he should have been doing, was pulling as many out as he could before it caught fire. Danny ran forward to do the dangerous job that no normal person could do. He thought that if it got bad, he'd just go intangible. But he knew that his parents couldn't do that. That's when the smell of burning plastic reached all their noses.

Then, in the blink of eye, it happened. There was a sound like a bomb going off. Danny realized too late that one of the loose sparks hit an unstable weapon. The result was the gun exploded and started a chain reaction. They had at least five more unstable weapons like this. At least that Danny knew about. Soon, the fire from the first explosion hit another weapon. Then the next thing they knew they were in the middle of a room bursting into flames. Danny was about to run over to his parents side, when a large flaming support beam feel from above. Danny watched as in slow motion, the beam fell from the ceiling. He took a chance and dived in the opposite direction. It missed him by an inch.

"That was too close," Danny muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

But he only just realized that in doing this, he was now across the room from his parents. And the beam was blocking him from getting to them.

"Damn it," Danny cried out in frustration.

This was the second time that his parents were putting him in danger. But this time it wasn't from the ghost portal, but in fact the truth was slowly dawning on him. The only way out of this might be to reveal his secret.

"No," he thought in desperation, "There must be another way out of this mess."

The flames grew as he took precious minutes to think of another way out. Jazz wasn't home, and she wasn't expected to be there till after eleven o'clock. Danny glanced at his watch. It was nine o'clock. A neighbor perhaps would call the fire department. But the way the fire was spreading, if they didn't act now, they would die. There wasn't time for a truck to come. And even if there was, they were down in the basement. It would take time to get in and get them. As it was, the smoke was unbearable.

Danny tried to look for the faces of his mother and father through the thick layer of smoke that had filled the room. Danny was normally not affected by high temperatures, but he was really getting hot now. He could barley see for the fact that a few beads of sweet rolled into his eyes. Wiping it away, he finally found his mother's face through the smoke and flames. She looked horrified. Danny could now see his dad holding on to her for dear life.

And focusing his ears through the roaring fire, he could now hear his mother and father voices, saying, "Danny, please, were are you?"

She sounded really panicked.

"Mom, mom, I'm here" he called over the noise.

At last, she spotted him.

"Danny, hold on baby, the fire department is on its way" Maddie yelled over all the chaos.

He wasn't sure if it was a lie or not. She could just be trying to make him feel better. Maybe she had a cell and called herself. But the fact still remained that it would take too long. The fire was closing in on them. And it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

Danny stated to cough and gag. Trying to get a hold of himself, he knew it was the only way. There are times when the hero needs a savior, but no one comes. Danny now knew this was one of those times. It made him think that no matter what happened next, he would never leave a family alone to die. He was and forever would be Danny Phantom. But his unwavering determination wasn't enough to quench the fear he was holding inside his heart.

If his parents rejected him, he had nowhere else to go. And worse than that was, he would be risking his evil future self coming to life. He was so scared, and he wished someone would just swoop in and save him. But he knew deep down that no one would come. Not this time, this time it was all up to him to save the day. It was his secret and their love, or his life and theirs. That's when it all became clear to him as to what he must do. Even if his life might be over, he knew he couldn't take the risk on theirs. It wasn't his choice to make. Who was he to play g-d? Besides, he knew that even if his parents hated him, he could never hate them.

Turning around to face them, he hoped he didn't look as scared as he felt. He once again found the faces of his family. But it was getting harder to see due to his blurred vision. More furiously clearing his eyes, he looked into those of the two people who raised him. The two people who now hated him. Forcing that thought out of his head, he gave his mother a sad look.

Maddie was scared out of her mind for the first time ever! Not as much for herself, but more for her husband and her son. Danny wasn't even with them. If this was the last time she ever saw him... No, she cut off her own thoughts. She couldn't let herself think that way. There had to be a way out of this. Despite the fact that she told Danny that the firemen were on there way. After all that was just a lie. She didn't like the lost look he had in his eyes. No mother liked to see that in her child.

She found his face and saw him looking right in her eyes. She gasped. He was looking at her with an expression of pure fear and determination. It was obvious to anyone why the fear was there. But as to why the determination was there, she didn't know. Then he said the one thing that she knew she could never forget.

"Please don't hate me." His voice was shaky and wavering in and out of control.

Why would she ever hate him? And more importantly, why would he ever think that she could?

Danny Fenton was a simple boy; at least, he wished he was. What would he give for simple now? When the near future held his own mother and father giving him a look of loathing he knew well. They gave it to Phantom all the time.

"Here we go," he said, "It's now or never."

He just wanted to get it over with. He summoned the energy within him and brought it to the core of his being. Then he focused on his change. He felt the power surge through his body. Then his saw his body flash and light up like lightning. Then two familiar rings traveled through his body. Both starting from his middle and going in opposite ways to cover his whole body. Once the last remainder of the rings had passed his head and feet, he was no longer Danny Fenton, ordinary teenage boy. He was now Danny Phantom, not so ordinary teen hero.

He let out a huge sigh of relief. He didn't have to breathe when he was in ghost mode. Not wanting to see his parents' expressions of loathing, he took action at once. He turned intangible and flew through the fire. Then he grabbed a hold of his father first with one hand and his mother with the other. He turned them both intangible with him, and not a moment too soon. The second they were able to pass through the fire, it consumed the rest of the lab. Now there wasn't one inch of the place that wasn't covered in ash, flames and smoke.

He started to rise up and flew them all through the roof of the basement and then at last out of the house. The first thing Danny noticed, other than instant coolness of his surroundings, was his parents going into a coughing fit. Danny was just about to fly them over to the hospital, when an ambulance came over with five or six fire trucks. He was surprised that he hadn't heard the blaring sirens till now. The paramedics came over to help Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. In the meantime, Danny went into the nearby alleyway that he so often used to change into his ghostly alter ego. He came out to greet the paramedics with his parents for what might be the last time. But before he could go over to them, he was ambushed by Sam, Tucker and Jazz. They practically tackled him.

"Danny!" Sam said in relief, "You're ok, but how?" Then she silenced herself and her eyes grew wide.

"They know, don't they?" she asked with her hand covering her mouth.

"Who knows what?" Jazz and Tucker asked together.

"My parents know I'm Danny Phantom," he said in a small voice.

But what he didn't know was that they were right behind him, listening to their every word.

"I just know they hate me now."

Jazz looked at him with a sympathetic look clouding her features.

"Come on Danny, how could you know or even think that?"

"Because right before the fire, I asked my dad why he _hated_ phantom. And then he fed me all this crap on how I'm a bad guy playing the town. Then my mother showed up, and she said it too."

"But I don't get it," Sam said, "What is the big deal. I mean, it's not like they know it's you, right?"

"It's not that, Sam, when I was younger me and Tuck were in my back yard, and my mom wanted us to come inside."

Realization dawned on Tucker's face at the reminder of the memory.

"That's right dude, I remember now," Tucker said in a far away voice.

"Then what?" asked Sam.

'Well, then she made us come in, because it was raining out.'

"So?" jazz wondered. She wasn't there when it had happened.

Danny continued. "Then I said that I hated her. When I went to go tell her I was sorry, she told me about how hate is a word not to be used loosely. Then we each promised each other that I wouldn't say it without meaning it if she wouldn't. And she never did say it without meaning it one hundred percent."

"Sooo," Sam finished, "When they spoke of hating Phantom, you thought they meant it, because they promised to never say it without meaning it."

"Yep," Danny said sadly.

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton looked at each other, eyes full of guilt. They remembered it all too well. Danny was just a boy, and he didn't know any better at the time. But they were fully fledged adults. They were the ones who should have known better. They both walked forward and out of their hiding spot. Now that their breathing was under control, they didn't need the oxygen tanks anymore. It was a very close call, but their Danny had saved them in the end. It only now dawned on them why he didn't save them sooner. Or why he never told them. They should have known better.

Danny saw them and looked away, not able to meet their eyes.

"We'll be right back," Sam said, pulling Tucker and Jazz along with her.

This left Danny and his parents alone. Jack and Maddie glanced at each other, and they both somehow knew just what to do. They ran over to Danny, and they tackled him in a powerful hug.

Then they both bent down, still holding him, saying again and again, "I'm sorry, we love you, I'm sorry, we love you."

Danny looked over at them at last, in shock. He seemed at a loss for words. At last he seemed to find his voice.

"WHAT!" He yelled, as though he couldn't believe his ears.

Maddie and Jack looked sadly up at him. "We are sooooooo sorry we _ever _said anything like what we did to you. We didn't know it was you."

"You're really not mad?" he asked with caution.

As though if they said anything other than what he wanted, he would break.

"Of course we're not mad. We love you son," his mother went on.

"Yeah," his father continued, "Whether you are ghost, boy or something in between."

"You guys have NO idea how much I just wanted to hear you say that."

They all gave one big group hug. The men were still putting out the fire. So in the meantime, Danny, his parents, Sam, Jazz and Tucker went off to the side of the street. There they got air and talked like never before. Danny opened up to them about everything that he'd been bottling up inside. Once the fire was out, the family spent the night in a nearby hotel, while some important repairs were made. The night came and went and what started like a night of fear and dread, turned into an ok night. Danny slept soundly for the first time that night in a long time. And for once, there were no ghosts to wake him. He rolled over in his sleep. A smile broke across the young hero's face. His family loved him, and they always would.

Hay all. I just wanted to say that I'm still working on hero. And I'm still working on 'Pain, Loss and Family, The True Story' as well. However, that one is taking a break. But I wrote this story because I wanted to try writing a description on someone trapped in a fire. I did that because I wanted to challenge myself to see what I'm capable of. But now it's up to you to tell me how well I did. No flames please. Please read and review. Come on, just press that cute little button on the bottom of the screen. It's not that hard. Later. Love from your friend goldacharmed. Bye dudes.


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